These Modern Comedies Wouldn’t Be The Same Without Mel Brooks

Happy birthday Mel Brooks! The comedy genius behind hits like Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein and turns 90 years old today, and we can only assume the festivities will include a mildly offensive but completely hilarious musical number.

Mel Brooks is truly a pioneer in the worlds of comedy and film, pushing boundaries when it comes to subject matter and good taste, proving that silly humor can still be smart and insightful. While he may be retired from filmmaking, we’re forever grateful for his influence on comedy. With that in mind, we’re taking a look at how some of our favorite modern comedies wouldn’t be the same without Mel Brooks.

Anchorman Would Lose Its Silliness

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy became a cult hit in large part because of its silly, irreverent humor. The film mocked how seriously people take the news by making a joke out of anchor Ron Burgundy and . And that silly style would likely be lost without the influence of Mel Brooks.

Almost all of Brooks’s big screen comedies have a goofy streak. They’re over-the-top and pack in tons of jokes using a deft combination of dialogue and sight gags. That influence is perfectly seen in Anchorman‘s fight scene, with Ron Burgundy’s Channel 4 news team facing off with the rest of San Diego’s news crews. The scene already has a ridiculous set-up, taken even further by the appearance of multiple news teams, ridiculous weapons and an explosion of comedic violence with visuals and music ripped straight from a West Side Story gang fight (minus the choreographed dancing).

Spy Would Lose its Satire

Director Paul Feig’s Spy is , blending action and laughs for a satirical take on spy movies. While there’s some obvious inspiration from Brooks’s TV creation Get Smart, that influence extends beyond just poking fun at spy stories.

Mel Brooks’s satire always hits more than its obvious target. In The Producers, Brooks isn’t just mocking the entertainment industry — he specifically takes aim at all people in power who profit off the masses. Similarly, Spy‘s tale of a desk-bound CIA analyst finally given her shot at fieldwork moves past mocking incompetent bosses or stupid film archetypes to target the systems of power that keep women from advancing in the workplace.

Mel Brooks’s satire always hits more than its obvious target.

Borat Would Be Boring

Borat has more obvious ties to mockumentary hits like This is Spinal Tap, but Mel Brooks’s pioneering lack of subtlety helped prepare audiences for the craziness to come.

A good Mel Brooks movie features at least a few elements that push society’s comfort zone to its limits, like the overtly racial themes of Blazing Saddles or the Nazi-themed musical in The Producers. Brooks broke ground for filmmakers and performers like Sacha Baron Cohen to test the waters with their own offensive, yet ultimately illuminating, humor.

Scary Movie Wouldn’t Exist

In 2000, audiences were given a new take on genre parody with Scary Movie, but it probably wouldn’t exist without the influence of Mel Brooks.

The director will always be remembered for his big screen parodies like Silent Movie, Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles and Spaceballs. By dismantling standard Hollywood tropes, Mel Brooks was able to mine tired styles for fresh comedic material. Scary Movie does the same thing, ripping apart Hollywood’s horror hits to find comedy. Of course, the trend continued when Brooks’s fellow parody pioneers Jim Abrahams and the Zucker Brothers took charge of the franchise with Scary Movie 3 — a trio of creators no doubt influenced by Brooks themselves.

We could examine Mel Brooks’s influence on modern comedies all day, because his work is so profound. He brought a sense of silly glee to comedy, helped create the modern parody film and was never afraid to push a few buttons along the way. We’re just hoping he’ll come out of retirement to make one more movie.